Fixed Star
by Umeko the God
Summary: Destiny, like a fixed star, can seem firm and absolute, moving only in relation to the rest of the universe. Two completely different trainers are about to find out for themselves just how hard it can be to change...
1. Muliphein

Author's Note: This is a fic based on a crazy legend that my friend and I came up for an RP we were in. I'm not going to reveal the nature of said legend here, but you will find out by the end of this chapter.

This is an original character fic. My two characters may seem kind of irritating at first (each for their own reasons), but I hope you can come to like them. They will shape up eventually, I promise. XD

By the way, this fic is not betaed, nor did I really put all my effort into it. I'm basically just trying to practice my writing, and improving on various areas where I'm, well, less than stellar. (For one thing, I tend to jump right into the plot of a fic a lot, so I tried to lengthen the buildup here. Maybe it got a little too long and boring, though... eh.) This chapter is far from amazing, but maybe I'll rewrite it someday so that it doesn't suck as much.

Well, anyway... that's it! Enjoy!

Blanket Disclaimer: Pokemon ≠ mine. I may include some canon characters at some point, and they ≠ mine, either. The original characters in this fic, however, _are_ mine.

* * *

**Fixed Star  
Chapter 1 - Muliphein**

**---**

Destiny, like a fixed star, can seem firm and absolute, moving only in relation to the rest of the universe. And like the universe itself, the concept of destiny is something that mere humans can only hope to comprehend. This is, of course, how it should be, and no human could possibly be able to change something they don't even understand...

---

Brushing dirty blond bangs out of his eyes, fifteen-year-old Kouta gazed up into the sky. "Looks like clear weather today," he said to the Mightyena by his side. "Let's get going, Kiba."

Hefting his sling-pack over his shoulder, the boy descended the marble steps and took one last look at the family mansion as he reached the ornate fountain in front. While taking in the large, white building, Kouta realized that his father was right: for someone who was living in the lap of luxury for his entire life, venturing out into the wild would be a very different experience. But after spending eight years at the Pokemon Academy, he was ready for a change, and Kouta was sure he'd be able to handle it on his own. Just him and his Pokemon.

Besides, if he didn't want to camp out, he could always spend the night at an upper-class hotel. Funds certainly would not be a problem!

Finally, Kouta turned around and sprinted the rest of the way towards the main gate, with Kiba at his heels.

---

Unfortunately, the novelty of the whole situation wore off not a mile down the road.

"It's all just trees and grass!" Kouta moaned. "If I had wanted to see this, I could've just taken a stroll through the gardens."

Kiba huffed in moderate agreement. But even for a captive-born dog, it was rather exhilarating to be out in the wile, taking in the sights and smells of nature.

Kouta glanced down at his Mightyena. "I'm not even finding any Pokemon. You're not scaring them off, are you?"

Kiba only looked up at his master, offended.

"Right... Hey, what's that?" Kouta turned quickly in the direction he had heard the sound, only to catch a glimpse of a brownish blur disappearing into the trees.

He stopped, staring at the spot in bewilderment. The Pokemon _were_ being scared away! Somehow, Kouta found that very offensive. How dare they hide themselves from him! How else was he supposed to catch them!

"Grr... Oh, whatever!" Kouta threw his head back haughtily, his sandy hair tickling his forehead and neck. "I don't need any wild Pokemon! _My_ Pokemon are so much better than they are, anyway!" Grumbling in frustration, he dug into his bag and pulled out an electronic device – the newest model of the PokeNav, complete with built-in GPS capabilities. He accessed the map function to double-check where he was and where he should be headed. "We're going west now, about two miles from Lilycove..." he mumbled as he continued to walk along the dirt road. "We're approaching Route 120, at which point we'll start going north, and..."

Kiba only walked by Kouta's side, paying more attention to the moist ground under his paws than what his master's musings.

"...It would probably be quicker if we cut through the tall grasses, but that's gross. Wouldn't you say, Kiba?" Kouta tucked his PokeNav away and readjusted his bag.

Not much further down the road, he noticed that the ground was steadily becoming more wet (moreover, his shoes were getting covered in mud!), and the air held the distinct smell of newly fallen rain. The weather was clear, however, and held no sign of rain in the near future, so Kouta paid it no mind. Surely he'd be fine until arriving in Fortree later that night, where they could find shelter at the Pokemon Center.

The trek was mostly uneventful, and the boy and his Pokemon were only about a mile away from their destination as the sun was beginning to set. However, Kouta discovered to his dismay that he couldn't avoid the grass any longer – there was a large patch of tall grass that he would have to go through in order to reach Fortree City.

Kouta cursed softly and quickly ticked off on his fingers as he reviewed which Pokemon he had with him. "Beatrice, Typhoon, Harvey... dammit, do I have no Pokemon with me who know Cut?" He stole a glance at the tall, forboding grass, and groaned. It would have been fine if it was just grass, but due to the apparent recent rainfall, the grass was _wet_. "My clothes are going to get ruined," Kouta sighed, but he accepted his fate and made his way into the grass.

Stomping his way through the grasses, Kouta was not at all surprised to find the experience less than pleasant. "This is ridiculous, Kiba," he complained. "My clothes are getting all wet and revolting, and my hair is certainly a mess, and I'm still not coming across any wild Pokemon! They never ran away from me at school..." He stopped and took another glance at the map on his PokeNav. "I can't believe there are no other routes to Fortree. Who was the genius who decided that there didn't need to be a road cleared here?" He frowned, then glanced up at the sun gradually falling lower in the clear sky. "We _are_ headed north, right? Hopefully we'll get out of this disgusting grass soon."

He continued walking forward, his eyes on the map, until he ran into something and nearly lost his balance.

"Kak!"

"Wh-what was that!" Kouta looked down to see a red zig-zag pattern, which then appeared to jump and run away. It didn't take long for it to click in his head, "That's a Kecleon! Kiba, after it! Use Swagger!"

The Mightyena jumped forward, blocking the path of the zig-zag. After a moment of staring it down, the zig-zag pattern seemed to stagger, and in its place appeared a green lizard-like creature, stumbling clumsily. The Kecleon seemed to somewhat gain its balance, and then scratched at Kiba's face, who winced slightly in pain.

"Shake it off, Kiba!" Kouta called after it encouragingly. "Use Bite now!"

Obligingly, Kiba closed its jaws upon the Kecleon. The wild Pokemon cried out in protest and, once released, stumbled backwards. It shook its head slightly and, apparently coming back to its senses, began to run in the other direction. Kiba followed in hot pursuit, not wanting to lose its opponent.

Kouta stood rooted to the ground for a moment before realizing that he was quickly losing sight of the two Pokemon in the tall grasses. "Wa– wait, Kiba!" he called after them, running in the direction he had seen them headed. He wasn't so much worried about losing track of Kiba – he'd find his way back to Kouta, surely – but he didn't want to pass up the chance of catching the only wild Pokemon he had come across so far!

He continued running straight, though he realized that the Pokemon had probably veered into another direction at some point. He looked right and left as he ran, hoping to catch a glance of at least one of the Pokemon he was pursuing.

Therefore, he didn't even have a chance to register what was right in front of him before running into it, head on.

"Ow!" cried the girl as she was knocked to the ground. She looked at Kouta with teary eyes as she sat up on the ground. "That hurt, you know."

Kouta glanced over her quickly as he stood up, brushing off his muddy knees. She had brown hair that reached about mid-back and curled at the ends; after being slightly mussed from the impact, she tried to brush it out of her face, repositioning her hairpins. But judging from the rags she was wearing, and the weak-looking Sunkern held in her arms, the girl wasn't anyone worth his time. "You shouldn't have been in the way," he snapped as he tried to find his bearings. "Damn... Out of my way, peasant girl!" He blatantly disregarded her, running off into another direction to search for his Pokemon.

The girl's Sunkern, however, was not pleased. Hopping out of its trainer's arms, it bounced after Kouta, shouting angrily. "Kern!"

"Wait! Summer!" Rubbing away her tears, the girl stood up quickly and chased after it. "Summer, please come back here!"

---

After some running, Kouta managed to find his Mightyena, sitting in the grass and looking quite unpleased. He slowed to a stop next to the black dog and sighed. "Don't tell me. It got away."

Kiba only made a growling noise in his throat as an affirmative.

Sighing again, Kouta sat on the ground next to Kiba and took out his map. "Well, let's at least try to find out where we've gotten ourselves, now. I think we've ended a little ways northeast, so..."

He was interrupted from his thoughts as the grass a little ways from Kouta's feet began to rustle. "What's that? Is it back?" He stood back up as a grin began to form on his face. "Get ready, Kiba, I think something's–"

"Kern!" A yellow blur pelted itself at Kouta and collided with his shin, then fell to the ground by his foot.

Disdainfully, Kouta nudged the Sunkern with his sneaker lightly. "Do I know you?"

The little Pokemon scowled, then ferociously bit at Kouta's shoelace.

Kouta tried to shake it off, which only resulted in his shoelace being untied. "Why, you little–"

"Leave Summer alone!"

Kouta looked in the direction of the voice and saw the girl that he had run into earlier. He frowned, then retorted, "Look who's talking! I did nothing, your little fiend of a Sunkern just attacked me out of nowhere!"

"Don't call her a fiend!" The girl swiftly scooped her Pokemon back up and glared at Kouta. "You're awfully rude, you know. You didn't even apologize after knocking me over!"

Kouta only sniffed haughtily, refusing to look the girl in the eyes. "As if you're deserving of an apology from me. You were in the way."

The girl scowled back at him, and it looked like she was going to cry again. "I was just minding my own business, but you came out of nowhere and knocked me over! I think you just weren't watching where you were going!"

"Of course I was!" Kouta insisted, refusing to admit that he was in the wrong.

"I'm only asking for an apology!"

Kouta glared straight at the girl now. "I do not apologize to boorish girls like you!"

The girl said nothing then, only turned away as the tears began to fall.

He watched her with pointed disinterest, waiting for her to face him properly again. After a minute or two, he turned back to his PokeNav and continued as if the girl had never appeared before him. He mumbled under his breath to Kiba, "Now, let's see, I want to get out of this awful grass as soon as possible, so..."

"You can go that way."

Kouta looked again at the girl, who was still facing away from him but pointing towards the east. "Oh really?"

The girl's light brown hair swung slightly as she nodded. "I think the grass clears up about thirty meters that way. Then you can go around it to get to Fortree, though it's a longer route."

He studied her back carefully as he took in what she said. "And where are you headed?"

"I just came from Fortree, so I'm going to whatever's next, I guess."

"Lilycove?"

"I guess."

"It's either you are or you aren't, stupid girl!"

She turned to face Kouta again, still scowling. "Stop insulting me like that, you don't even know me!"

"As if I'd _want_ to know you," Kouta answered, tucking the device away. "Well, I'll be off now. Let's hope we never meet again."

Kouta headed off in the direction he had been pointed, but he didn't get far when he realized that he was being followed. Without looking over his shoulder, he asked, "Why are you following me?"

"I want an apology."

"I said I wasn't going to give you one."

"Then I'm going to follow you until you do."

He turned to face her as he stepped out of the grass into a clearing. "Don't you have somewhere else to be headed, peasant girl?"

"I can wait," she said, holding her Sunkern firmly in her arms.

Kouta stared her down for a moment before snorting and turning away. "What an irritating girl."

"You're one to talk," the girl muttered.

Laughing slightly, Kouta spun on his heel to face the girl again. "Oh no, that's where you're wrong. Everything I say and do is entirely justified, so therefore you have no right to be irritated by it. If you have a problem with that, then too bad, but get used to it."

She looked at him quizzically. "Justified by whom?"

"Me, naturally."

"You're so full of yourself."

"Shouldn't I be?" he grinned. "After all, you're just a mere peasant, and I'm–"

Kouta was interrupted by a sudden rustling in the trees, and he looked behind him to see what it was. The girl also peered around Kouta curiously.

There was silence for a moment before there was a sort of glittering disformation in the air, and out of the trees appeared a small pink creature floating in midair.

"Meww?"

The Pokemon glided towards the two gently, spinning above their heads while giggling. Both trainers stared at it in awe, only half believing that the sight before them was actually real.

Then, as suddenly as it had appeared, the Mew vanished into the clear blue sky.

A heavy silence fell between the two as they registered exactly what they had seen.

The girl was the first to speak. "Um, was that...?"

"Yeah, I think it was..." Suddenly, Kouta realized something that made the situation all the worse for him. He tore his eyes away from the spot where Mew had vanished, and fixed his stare onto the girl. _No way... her?_ How utterly appalling!

It didn't seem as if the girl understood the magnitude of what had just happened, though. She turned to him, smiling cheerfully. "Wow, wasn't that amazing? That was really Mew!" Her eyes glittered with childish wonder.

Kouta merely snorted and turned away without a word. _Maybe if I just leave and pretend that that didn't happen, it'll be okay._ He hadn't taken two steps, though, before a loud _crack!_ resounded through the skies.

He hadn't taken three steps when it suddenly began to pour.

He cursed softly under his breath. Of all the luck...

"Um..." The girl tried to get his attention, but he ignored her. "Um, we need to get..." The girl then grabbed his hand and pulled him back into the grasses. "Please follow me! We need to take shelter!"

Kouta groaned, but obediently followed, with Kiba in hot pursuit. After all, if he didn't go with her, the storm would probably become a hurricane.

They ran a while, the grass whipping their faces as they passed, and down a rocky ledge when they came upon an opening in the stone formation along the path – apparently the opening to a cave. The girl crouched down to enter and gestured for Kouta to do the same. But he didn't, scowling up at the stone walls in disgust. "This? What kind of shelter is this?"

He looked down again and the girl was gone, along with his Mightyena. Sighing, Kouta crouched down and crawled into the cave, grumbling in frustration. "Kiba, you're going to get it for forcing me to follow you into this vulgar, primitive..."

Kouta then saw that the inside wasn't as small as it had seemed, and not as dirty as he had expected (but still very much so).

The girl he had run into smiled at him shyly while wringing out her hazelnut-colored hair. "The weather changed so suddenly, didn't it? It's a good thing my Secret Base was nearby. Closer than a Pokemon Center, anyway," she said.

Sniffing indignantly, Kouta replied, "I'd rather be out there than in this dump."

Frowning, and with tears glistening in her eyes, the girl turned away. _What a baby, crying about everything. Why did I have to get stuck with her?_ Kouta sat down on a small pink cushion and took another look around the base. Indeed, there really wasn't that much in the way of aesthetic appeal; a poster here, a doll there, but that was pretty much it. "Do you like looking at brown all the time or something?" he asked casually.

The girl turned to him again, tears threatening to fall. "I can't spend all my money on decorations, you know!" she pouted.

"Oh come on, they're dirt cheap!"

"Well unlike you, I don't have that much money to spare!" She turned away again as she began to cry. "Ohh, I should have just left you out there..."

Kouta was silent. "Well, be glad you didn't," he muttered.

The girl didn't turn to look at him, only sat on the ground cradling her Sunkern. "And why is that?"

"You don't even know that?" Kouta frowned. "Jeez, I knew peasant education was far from decent, but–"

"Just tell me," she said quietly, peering at him from over her shoulder.

He shot her a nasty look. "Don't interrupt me, peasant girl."

"My name isn't 'peasant girl,' it's Seika!"

"...Seika. Okay. Well..." He paused, trying to think of the simplest way to explain it, so that even an uneducated peasant would understand. "You know what they say about those who see Mew?"

Seika nodded slowly, turning to face Kouta. "That whoever Mew shows itself to is destined for happiness."

"That's when Mew shows itself to a single individual," Kouta elaborated. "However..."

Seika looked at him curiously, wondering why he had trailed off. "Yes?"

Kouta scowled, rubbing his temples gently. "If... if Mew, origin of all, shows itself to a _pair_ of people, that means that the couple is destined to be happy _together_..."

The girl frowned slightly. "Meaning..."

With a sigh, Kouta directed his gaze towards Seika's, looking her straight in the eye. "That means that you," he pointed towards her, "and I," then pointed to himself, "are... betrothed."

* * *

Quick note: I think the first few chapters will be in Kouta's POV – this one and the next one will be, at least. I'll probably be changing to a neutral POV eventually, or at least switching between chapters, it depends. Anyway, the point is that as I'm sure you've noticed, Kouta is very stuck-up and judgmental at this point. So, when he says that Seika is wearing rags... he doesn't mean that literally. XD She's wearing, like, clothes from a discount department store. Kouta just has high expectations is all. 


	2. Angetenar

Author's Note: I wonder, do I have to blatantly ask for reviews in order to get them? I don't want to because I feel like it would be kind of obnoxious, but I _would_ like to think what people think of this fic. Oh well.

...Um, I had something else to say, but I forget. It was probably just whining about how I want my copies of Diamond and Pearl to hurry up and get delivered, though, so I guess you're not missing much. 8D;;

* * *

**Fixed Star  
Chapter 2 - Angetenar**

There was a long silence between the two as the gravity of the situation sunk in.

"W-wait a minute..." Seika backed up slightly. "I-I don't even know you! I don't even know your _name_! And I only just turned fourteen! How can we be..."

"I didn't make this up," Kouta sighed. "But that's how it is. If we pretend it didn't happen, the Legendaries will have us doomed for eternity. _I_ tried to ignore it, but that's when this big storm blew in."

Seika frowned at him, looking like she was about to cry again. "You're lying. I don't believe you!"

Kouta threw his hands up in exasperation. "As if I'd want to marry a crybaby like you!"

"I am not a crybaby!" the girl insisted, even as the tears rolled down her face. "You're so mean, you– you–"

"Kouta."

"Kouta-san! I refuse!" Seika was standing now, and she stomped over to the furthest corner of the base and curled into a ball. Her Sunkern gazed up at her in worry.

Kouta _hmph_ed and lay down on the ground. He rested his head upon Kiba, who smelled like wet dog, but he didn't care. He just didn't want to look at that unsightly girl anymore. "Ridiculous," he mumbled, closing his eyes. "To think it's a girl like _her_."

---

He must have fallen asleep, because when Kouta opened his eyes again, the rain had stopped and there was light filtering into the cave. As he began to come to his senses, he noticed the smell of something cooking, accompanied by the crackling of a fire. He sat up, his sleeping bag falling off him, and looked in the girl's direction.

Seika was kneeled by a small fire, her Sunkern and a Vulpix by her side. She glanced up briefly, acknowledging that Kouta was awake, then turned her attention to something on the ground. Standing up, she approached Kouta and placed a plate on the ground by him. "Here's breakfast, I hope you like it." Then she placed another plate on the ground, this time in front of Kiba. "I'm not sure what Mightyena eat, but this is the Pokemon food I give my Vulpix, so..."

Kouta ignored the food for a moment, instead staring at the sleeping bag still half-covering him. "I don't remember getting this out..."

"Oh, I..." Seika paused momentarily before continuing. "You fell asleep last night, and your clothes were still wet, and I didn't want to wake you up, so I covered you with that so that you wouldn't catch cold..."

"Did I give you permission to go through my stuff?" he asked sharply, shooting a glare at her.

Seika recoiled, and her eyes started to water. "I- no, but I thought it would be better if–"

Kouta raised a hand to cut her off, and then sighed. "Whatever, just don't do it again, okay?"

The girl was silent a moment before quietly apologizing and retreating back to the campfire.

With her gone, Kouta looked down at the food she had given him, and scrunched his nose up in disgust. On the plate were two horribly misshapen pancakes, a couple pieces of blackened bacon, and an orange that, fortunately, actually looked edible. He cautiously cut a piece of a pancake and placed it in his mouth, and was horrified to discover that it wasn't cooked all the way through. He shifted the half-goop on his tongue for a moment, debating whether he should choke it down or spit it out.

Then a thought occurred to him: was this what commoners considered "good" cooking? Frowning, he felt a slight pang of guilt, and swallowed the pancake so that he could ask her. "So is this considered high-quality food among you peasants?"

Seika stiffened, then answered, "I'm sorry my cooking doesn't live up to your expectations!"

"That's not what I–" Kouta started to reply, but decided that it really wasn't worth it to redeem himself to a girl like her, so he shut his mouth and began picking his pancakes apart. He gingerly tried another bite.

Well... maybe it wasn't _that_ bad.

The two trainers ate in silence for a few minutes, until Seika finally spoke up. "Um... I'm sorry about how I acted last night."

"Huh?" Kouta glanced over at her quizzically. What was she apologizing for? Why _wouldn't_ she get angry about the situation? There was no need to apologize. But instead, he replied, "You _better_ be sorry."

The girl didn't respond and just looked downwards. She was probably crying _again_, but with her tawny bangs obscuring her face Kouta couldn't tell. After another moment of silence, she said, without looking up, "I've been thinking."

Kouta glanced at her as he worked on peeling his orange. "Impressive."

Seika's head snapped up, a frown on her face. "Could you maybe say something _without_ insulting me?"

"Why should I?"

"Because it's rude!"

Kouta stared at her. "...Well, go on. What thought managed to make its way into your thick head?"

She pouted, trying to keep the tears back. "You– you said that our betrothal was decided by the Legendaries, right?"

"In a manner of speaking," he replied, turning his attention back to his orange.

"So we have to abide by that."

"Unless we have a death wish, yes."

Seika paused for a moment before saying, "You know, I don't think that's really fair that they decide it for us. People should have the freedom to fall in love themselves, don't you think?"

Kouta shrugged. Technically speaking, the binding would not occur unless the two individuals involved were destined to fall in love anyway, but Kouta felt that saying that aloud would make it true, which is most obviously was not. "And?"

"Uh... well, my point is," Seika continued, "do you think that maybe it could be revoked by a Legendary? If they were the ones to decide it in the first place, surely they'd be able to."

"And why would they do that unsolicited?" Damn, his fingernails would smell like orange for the rest of the day, wouldn't they?

"They wouldn't, which is why we would appeal to them to change it."

Kouta finally looked straight at her, putting his half-peeled orange to the side. "So you're saying that we'd have to find a Legendary and ask them to revoke the betrothal."

Seika nodded. "Yes."

"Do you know how impossibly difficult that would be?"

"Uh, well..." She put a finger to her chin in thought. "I'm sure we'd be able to find one eventually if we put all our effort into it. Aren't there about twenty Pokemon that are considered Legendary...?"

"Twenty-one. That are known of, anyway."

Seika nodded. "That's a lot, though! So the chances of finding at least one of them are pretty good, right?"

Kouta sighed, and said, "Well, I suppose we could try. It's not like we have anything to lose."

"Right!" Seika smiled, finally. "And now I actually have a goal to aim for!"

The blond cocked an eyebrow at her. "You didn't before?"

"Well, no..." Seika laughed sheepishly. "I was actually just traveling around, doing odd jobs for money. I'm not that good at battling, really."

"That's what you get when you use a Sunkern."

The Sunkern defiantly yelped its name in response, shooting Kouta a dirty look from over its food.

"Summer actually doesn't battle," Seika admitted. "She's still little, and I haven't found any Pokemon at a low enough level to train her."

"Hmm..." Kouta trailed off in thought. "Well, anyway, if we're going to hunt for Legendaries, we'll have to do it strategically. Let's make a plan."

---

"So, there are twenty-one Legendary Pokemon." Kouta recited the names as he wrote them down in a notebook. "Native to Kanto are Mew, Mewtwo, Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres. Johto has Lugia, Ho-oh, Raikou, Entei, Suicune, and Celebi. And in Hoenn are Groudon, Kyogre, Rayquaza, Latias, Latios, Regirock, Regice, Registeel, Deoxys, and Jirachi..."

"Oh, I love Jirachi!" Seika gushed from over his shoulder. "Do you think we might be able to find it?"

Kouta frowned. "Actually, I think Jirachi is one of the ones we're least likely to find. After all, it only wakes up once every thousand years."

"Oh, that's right..." She sighed as she watched Kouta cross Jirachi off the list. "Well, Hoenn still has the most, right? If we stay in this region there's a greater chance of running into one."

"Not necessarily..." Kouta ran a hand through his blond hair. "There's no reason for them to stay in one place. Mew did appear here in Hoenn, after all." He ran his eyes over the list again. "You know, I don't think many of these Pokemon would be able to grant our request, anyway. I can only imagine that a few would be able to, but most of them have pretty specific duties unrelated to something like who marries whom."

"Well, even if we come across one that can't do it, they should be able to contact one that could," Seika reasoned as she scratched her Vulpix behind the ears.

Kouta looked at her incredulously. "Do you honestly think that Legendaries keep tabs on each other? That they get together for a luncheon once a month and chat it up?"

Her eyes sparkled in wonder. "Wow, Kouta-san, do you think they do? That would be fun!"

"_No_, I _don't_ think they do!" he yelled back. "Are you that stupid, peasant girl?"

"Stop calling me that!"

Kouta turned back to his notes when he realized that rather than glittering in wonder, Seika's eyes were glittering with tears. Again. He gave a heavy sigh and tapped the tip of his pen on the paper. "Well, we have to start somewhere."

Seika sniffled and said, "Maybe there's something in Lilycove City?"

"Nah, there's nothing there," Kouta said, waving a hand dismissively. "I live there, so I should know. Besides, I don't want to go all the way back there; I only left yesterday." Then a thought occurred to him. "Hey, where are _you_ from?"

After blinking in surprise, Seika answered, "I'm from Olivine City."

"In Johto?"

"Uh-huh." She nodded the affirmative. "I've been in Hoenn for about a month now."

"Oh." Kouta paused, trying to decide whether the conversation should continue in that vein or not. "That's nice. But back on topic..."

"Right," Seika agreed. "Well, if Lilycove is out of the question, maybe we should head to Fortree. It's less than a mile away from here, and even though I've already spent a few weeks there, I don't mind."

Kouta pulled out his PokeNav and looked up a map of their location. "I'm not sure that Fortree would have anything, either. It strikes me as being rather... crude."

Seika rolled her eyes. "Is nothing good enough for you? I happen to think that Fortree is very nice."

"That would be because you're an ungracious commoner."

"Well fine!" She stood up then, her purple jumper fluttering about her waist. "I'm going to Fortree, so meet me at the Pokemon Center once you deflate your overblown ego! Come on Summer, Plamya."

Kouta silently watched the girl leave the cave with her Pokemon. Once she was out of sight, he turned to Kiba and said, "What kind of stupid name is Plamya?"

---

Kouta took his sweet time getting to Fortree City, and then he took his sweet time getting to the Pokemon Center. The bland treehouses and dense trees didn't offer much in the way of aesthetic appeal, he noted, while sitting on the edge of a rope bridge. And the interiors of the wooden houses were no better; he had checked out a few stores just to see what was available, but he saw nothing that suited his tastes. Exactly what about Fortree did that girl consider _"nice"_?

After loitering around for a while, Kouta had settled on that bridge while sharing a sandwich with Kiba. He gazed down through the tree trunks as he chewed thoughtfully; it wasn't the best ham-and-cheese sandwich he'd ever tasted, but at least it was better than Seika's cooking.

"Hey Kiba," he said out loud suddenly. "What do you think of that girl?"

The Mightyena gave no answer, of course, other than fixing an intent stare on Kouta.

"She's such a crybaby," Kouta continued, "and when she's not crying she's being impudent towards me. To think that I'm destined to _marry_ her... it must be somebody's sick idea of a joke!"

Knowing that the boy wasn't done ranting, Kiba watched and waited for him to continue.

Kouta was silent for a while as he appeared to be pondering something. "Though, I guess when she's not angry, she actually does treat me with the respect I deserve.

Kiba grumbled a short reply.

"She does have the decency to call me 'Kouta-san.' And I have to admit that while her social graces leave something to be desired, she's not _that_ annoying. It's better than being betrothed to someone like Mai, at least."

He was met with an affirmative grunt.

Kouta sat in contemplative silence for another moment before hoisting himself back on his feet, dusting off the back of his khaki pants. "Well, it's probably about time we get to the Pokemon Center now. Let's go."

---

"Kouta-san! What took you so long? I've been waiting for three hours!"

Kouta wasn't sure what he had expected upon entering the Pokemon Center lobby, but it certainly wasn't being met with a genuinely worried Seika, tears brimming her eyes.

Actually, the tears weren't that surprising.

"I, uh..." He hesitated, a bit taken aback. Why in the world would she be worried about him? It didn't make any sense! "Well, you told me not to come until I had deflated my ego."

Seika rubbed at her eyes. "I didn't expect you to actually _listen_ to me!"

Upon hearing that, Kouta couldn't help but smirk. "Well, I didn't. You'll probably think that I'm just as pompous as I was before."

"I expected as much," the brunette sighed, her arms dropping back to her sides. Then she looked up at him and smiled. "Well, I'm sure you'll come around eventually."

"Come around? There's nothing that I need to come around _to_, stupid girl."

"Oh well," Seika said, turning on her heel and returning to the seat where her Sunkern and Vulpix were waiting. "Summer, Plamya, let's go to the room we reserved!"

A thought occurred to Kouta then. "Oh right, there was something I wanted to tell you," he said.

She turned her spruce-colored eyes towards him again. "What is it?"

"You have really bad naming sense."

Seika stuck her tongue out at him.

* * *

...I didn't leave out any Legendaries, did I? I think I got all of them (except the Diamond/Pearl ones, of course), but if I did neglect to notice one or two (hopefully no more than that) that are actually Legendaries, well, tell me so I can fix it. And pretend that they were always there in the first place, because that's my mistake, not Kouta's. XD He wouldn't make such a mistake; he's a smart cookie, he is. ...Hmm, I think I'll have to work on not ignoring the Pokemon so much in future chapters. This is, after all, a _Pokemon_ fanfiction! 


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